History
Esperion Therapeutics was originally founded in 1998 and has had an exciting and eventful history. The original incarnation of Esperion was the first to identify and take advantage of the opportunity provided by HDL therapy for improving cardiovascular health. This success led to acquisition by Pfizer in 2004. Then after Pfizer's cessation of R&D efforts in Michigan in 2007, Esperion was divested into an independent company again in 2008. Click the timeline below for the whole story.

1998

Esperion Therapeutics founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Roger Newton and other top lipid scientists to develop novel treatments for atherosclerosis and other metabolic disorders. Funded by $16 million in venture capital investments and a $6 million loan from an international business development fund.

In-licensed the intellectual property for two HDL-related product candidates

1999

Raised another $27 million of venture capital to fuel growth.

In-licensed the intellectual property for two additional HDL-related product candidates.

2000

Launched Phase I clinical trials for several product candidates.

Received first patent for certain HDL-targeted, small-molecule therapies.

Debuted on NASDAQ (Ticker symbol: ESPR) through an initial public offering that raised $62 million.

2001

Launched Phase II clinical trials for several product candidates.

2003

Published ground-breaking study in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrating that HDL therapy could rapidly and safely reverse atherosclerosis.

Issued a secondary offering that raised $67 million to expand clinical programs.

2004

Acquired by Pfizer for $1.3 billion and began operating as a Pfizer, Inc. company.

Continued to pursue discovery and development of HDL-focused biopharmaceuticals.

2007

Pfizer discontinued activities on Esperion product candidates and closed all Michigan-based research and development facilities, including Esperion.

2008

Launched the new Esperion with $22.75 million in venture capital.

2009

Initiated Phase 1 Clinical Studies for ETC-1002.

2010

Completed collaborative, HDL-focused research agreement with the Cleveland Clinic and a supply agreement with TransGenRx.

Initiated Phase 2 clinical trials for ETC-1002 and launched additional small molecule and biopharmaceutical programs.

2011

Announced and presented results from the ETC-1002 Phase 1 clinical trial and four pre-clinical studies at the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Scientific Meeting.